BRITISH 



GAME BIRDS AND WILDFOWL. 



PHEASANT. 



Phasianus CdlcMeus, . . . ~Lts~S3£T1s. 



Faisan vulgaire, .... Tejisunck. 



Phasianus — Belonging to Pkams. Colehieus — Belonging to Colchis. 



"Whether Ave look upon this very fine bird as an ornament to our parks and woods, 

 or in the more gross and epicurean light of an additional luxury for our tables, we cannot 

 but consider the time of its introduction into this country, some five hundred and fifty 

 years ago,* as a very important epoch in the annals of the sportsman. Its hardy nature, 

 the readiness with which it breeds, and its rapid increase under favourable circumstances, 

 have led to its introduction into all our preserves; while its comparative familiarity and 

 tameness, combined with its large size and peculiar habits, have made it a very favourite 

 object of pursuit to the poacher, or unlawful sportsman. 



The original 'locus a cpio' of the Pheasant is generally believed to have been the banks 

 of the River Phasis, now called Rion, which ran through the ancient Colchis, in Asia 

 Minor. TVe thus find the origin of both the generic and specific names accounted for; 

 and although such an application of the names of places to designate this bird, would 

 reasonably lead to the supposition that it had only, or at any rate chiefly, been originally 

 an inhabitant of that particular district; yet such an idea is hardly reconcileable with 

 its known hardiness, and the readiness with which it multiplies. It probably was then, 

 as it is at the present day, to be found more or less generally distributed across the 

 whole of the Asiatic continent. But, however interesting it might be to pursue the 



* A. D. 1299. 



